Yesterday Doesn't Exist
by AryaStarks
Summary: Sakura is the new girl at one of the best high schools in the country. No one knows where she comes from, how'd she get in, and who she is. The worst part about this school, is that she's training to be a ninja. Additionally, she's housemates with a bunch of guys called the Akatsuki. What a joy.
1. A New School

Great.

A fresh new start, I tell myself. Nothing to worry about. Just several more months, and you'll transfer again, and make new friends. If it doesn't work out here, I can try again next time. I look at the high school before me with admiration, and bite my lip.

"Move it!" A deep male voice snaps me out of my slack-jawed stare, and shoves me to the right. I really should make my way inside, but I couldn't help but be amazed by this school. The Konohamaru Academy was one of the best schools, and most funded schools in the United States. I had a variety of choices to apply for, perhaps go for art, or for dancing, whatever there could be named. I just chose to take an inverview, because apparently, I was talent less. It was really weird, also. The guy just asked me my name, what were my hobbies, books I liked to read, and what did I do in my free time. It felt more like a friendly chat than a true interview. He also offered me food some food, but I didn't bother trying it since I knew I would fall in love with the school even more. It looked scrumptious, but I wasn't really hungry.

That was when it got even more weirder, when the guy with really white hair asked me to attack him. He took me to a room with mats laid out everywhere. I blink, and take one glance at the school. It was made of glass, and had a top of a glass dome peeking out in the back. I finally work up the nerve to enter the school. I tried to wear my best clothes, but I still looked really out of place. Everyone here wore all these bandages and way different clothing than I've ever seen. Weird. I've never seen this sort of fashion here…I scrunch up my nose, and try to search for the main office. Ah! I spot a room where a bunch of old wrinkly ladies were sitting and working on paperwork. This must be where I get all my stuff. I enter the room, give my best smile, and tell this one woman with snowy-white hair,

"Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno. I just enrolled here, and I was wondering if you could give me my schedule and all that. This is my first day here, and I'm really lost," I try to sound charming, but judging by her look, she didn't look too impressed. Well, it didn't hurt to try.

" ," she mutters to herself, before shuffling over to a green file cabinet. She forcefully opens it, and looks through a bunch of fat yellow packets. After several minutes, she fishes out my packet, and hands it over to me. It was quite stuffed with papers from what I can tell, and fairly heavy. "Everything you need is here. And you are a junior right?" She asks me, her pale blue eyes meeting mine.

I eagerly pluck the rather stuffed packet from the lady's brown-speckled shaky hands. "Yep. Thanks!" I tell her, smile lighting up my face.

She frowns at me. "Well…good luck. Your only class for today is at the dome. Since you arrived an hour early, I suggest for you to try to read everything in the files. It ranges from where your dorm is to who you're being mentored by. Anyways, I took a look on where you are going to reside, and just ask around for the Akatsuki building. Everyone recognizes it, and they'll point you in the right direction," she tells me, before shooing me out of the room.

Well then. I look around, and finally steal a glance at myself. I was wearing a baggy blue shirt and white Capri with worn out Converse. Everyone here wore from revealing tops to baggy pants, to bandages on their stomachs or arms. I finally work up the courage to go up to this long black haired girl with pale eyes and porcelain skin just like mine. She seemed fairly nice, just by the way she studied everyone in hall before ducking down and returning to her book and doing the same thing again. She was sitting on a wooden chair, its back placed back onto the hallway wall. I stand next to her slumped form, and look down at her.

"Hi…I'm new here. I'm Sakura Haruno and I was wondering if you could show me where the Akatsuki building is? Apparently my dorm is located there and I'm really lost," I tell the girl, who merely glances away from her book. She seems to be turning a bright pink color, before letting out a high-pitched squeak.

"Alrighty," I say brightly, to cover up my mortified thoughts. Is she going to decline me out here in public? "I should—"

"I'll take you there," the black-haired girl finally whispers over to me, her face still tinged with a light strawberry pink color.

"Thanks! By the way you are?" I ask her, noticing how she's wearing navy blue sweats with a purple and gray jacket. She was really pretty, but seemed very shy.

"Hinata Hyuga…Um…follow me…" she stands up and leads me through a very winding passage of hallways. Thankfully, the inside wasn't made of glass. One passageway was full of murals of different signs. I wish I would know what they were, but I had no clue.

The both of us walk in silence before exiting towards what I assume is the back of the school.

"Holy shit," I bluntly say.

Hinata giggles, and gives me a look. "Holy shit, indeed."

A line of rather large houses were spread apart. Each house's backyard had some sort of décor. A few had gardens in them, or rocks, even sand in one. The houses were all gorgeous. One looked like a log cabin, another made of glass, and one that looked like a cottage. "Hell, if you call those buildings, I might as well say that I lived in a box," I give a shrill laugh.

"They're not that amazing," Hinata retorts. "Anyways, this is the Akatsuki place. You're in what grade?" Hinata beckons me to a rather dark home. Made of all black, the windows tinted also, it just looked depressing. Even the garden was unattended to.

"Well, that looks bleak," I remark. "I'm in eleventh grade. Well, I have to get going. Thanks, and see you around Hinata! It was nice meeting you!" I say, giving a wave, before jogging over to the house.

"Where the hell is the goddamn entrance?" I ask myself crossly, before basically scanning the whole perimeter of the house. A door was wedged behind rather two large boulders, and I assume I'm in one of the ghetto houses or something. Of course. After all, I'm the school's lost cause, I bet.

Holding my breath, I knock on the door. I wonder where my key was. Perhaps in the folder I hadn't checked yet. I heard a bit of shouting on the other side before a male voice groaned out, "Hn, I'm coming! Jeez, I just woke up!" The door is thrown open, and a half-naked boy blinks sleepily at me.

"Whatdayawant?" He mumbles, leaning against the doorframe, his pants slung low at his waist. I avert my eyes, looking at his bare feet. Well, someone is quite comfortable with their body.

"Er—I'm Sakura Haruno. I'm a new student and I was told by this lady at the office that I will sleep in the Akatsuki place…" I tell him, and he took a double-take.

"Wait. You're a girl."

"Can I please just come in?" I ask the blonde, who finally makes way for to walk in. I slip off my worn-in shoes, and look around in the inside. Well, the décor in the interior of the house looked much better than the outside. There were two black sleek couches set on a hardwood floor facing a large plasma screen television. There was a glass table wedged between the television and the couches.

"That's all you have?" A voice interrupts my observations, and I glance black at the guy with whose blonde hair reaches practically his butt.

"Yeah. I like to travel lightly," I reply, touching the black couch. Of course it was leather. I plop down on the couch, and set my backpack down on the floor. I ignore the blonde guy and open up the big envelope.

Ms. Sakura Haruno

**Residence: **Akatsuki Building

**Grade: **11th

**Class: **7

**Roommates: **Deidara, Sasori.

Well, I had no clue who both the girls were. I flip onto the next page and skim through about the school rules. Yadda, yadda. The third page, I had my schedule in it.

**Normal Day Schedule**

**1****st**** Period: **History of Combat

**2****nd ****Period: **Medical Training

**3****rd ****Period: **Combat Training

**4****th**** Period: **Free period.

"You just got here and already making yourself feel comfortable, hn? You haven't even told me anything about you other than your name, and you so dearly woke me up," the guy says sarcastically.

"And you are?" I finally ask him, glancing up from my papers.

"Deidara, and thanks to you, I have fifteen minutes to get ready with a whole pack of guys," he snaps at me, before hollering out. "Wake up you lazy fat asses!"

A melody of groans echo throughout the house. Wait. He was Deidara? I was roommates with a guy? And Deidara said it was a house full of guys. So I was roommates with two guys?

Oh, shit.


	2. Placed in a Team

Have you ever felt that creepy-crawly feeling in your stomach? Perhaps anxiety or just simply being nervous when you are about to enter a new school, or have a scheduled meet-up with people? Like, what if they aren't there? Or perhaps you accidentally walked to the wrong place and didn't find your friends at all. Or your anxiety gets the better of you, and you think everyone hates you?

Well, I've felt it countless times, and I can't help it at the moment, as I sit on the couch, and fiddle around with my fingers. The feeling keeps squirming around in my stomach and I can't do anything to make it go away. I glance up occasionally at the black door that acts as a barrier from me and the rest of the house, before Deidara reemerges with a breakfast bowl. He sits down on the other couch, and just studies me while chewing on his colorful Fruit Loops cereal. My cheeks heat up and I look down at my lap, my chin pressing into my chest. My long light blonde hair hangs like a curtain, shadowing me from the rest of the world. Ugh. Why am I even blushing while watching a guy eat breakfast? Because he's still shirtless. Although, I mentally give him points for liking Fruit Loops, since that is my second favorite cereal. Rice Krispies rule above all other cereal.

I hear a few thuds around the house, and I continue to play with my fingers by clasping them into a knot. I really hate Deidara for forcing me to stay. It went like this, while I was tying my shoes getting ready to leave:

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked me, tilting his head to the side, as I looked back at his lightly tanned face. He looked a bit confused, and I sighed impatiently, my dislike for him growing. Absolutely great. I had a incredibly nosy man as my room mate.

"To class, dummy. I have about-" I took out my crappy flip phone from the back of my pants to check the time-"twenty minutes to get there," my heart dropped down into my stomach. Didn't Deidara say he had fifteen minutes to get ready? Plus, didn't five minutes pass already when he had to go get cereal and stuff? I looked up and watched for Deidara's response feeling ridiculous.

"It takes about six minutes to get to the dome," Deidara informed me, before tipping his bowl against his lips ignoring the spoon placed on the table, and swallowing down the rest of the contents. Disgusting.

"You are a junior?" I asked, my eyes widening. I'm also probably stuck in the same grade as him.

"Yeah, pinky. I figured you were a junior since it was written on your folder. Now, stop kneeling on the floor like that and get your ass on the couch to meet one of your house mates," he snapped at me. "You'll probably get lost trying to get class," he told me, and rolling my eyes, I obeyed his orders just to please him. But I wasn't particularly fond of being disrespected.

I feel really dumb. I let this guy make me feel like I'm a piece of trash, and here I am still watching him slurp down his stupid cereal. Finally done with his food, he left momentarily, before coming back in fully dressed. Deidara is wearing gray baggy pants with a similar colored shirt that is cut to his upper region of his stomach. Underneath the shirt, there's a fishnet with a gray pale strap of a tank top peeking out. His hair was up in a half-ponytail. Now, he looks absolutely androgynous. Why do all these people dress so weird?

A short redhead dressed in sweats bursts into the room, and glares at Deidara. "You fucktard, you had to make all the noise in the world and I will personally-," the boy abruptly stops talking when he catches a glimpse of me. He looks slightly taken back. I finally take it as my cue to leave. Plus the redhead looks kind of creepy with his exposed arms. There were black lines at each of his joints. Reminds me a bit of a puppet, honestly. No way am I going to deal with this, this early in the morning. Absolutely not in the mood with all these freaks.

"Well time to go. I've met one of the house mates you so dearly wanted me to stay for, and that's good enough," I say quickly, before practically running out to the door, and slamming the door before Deidara could stop me.

I know I'm going to regret this later by making it seem very awkward between Deidara and I when I'll have to room with him, but at the moment I don't care. I just want to get away from him. It took about five minutes to get to the glass dome, and closer up, it looks far more bigger. It looks as big as Central Park. Well, that's how I imagine Central Park would look like. Although, the dome was far more packed with trees casting over looming shadows than how Central Park would probably look like. But still, that's how I thought the size was of the park. When I traveled here to attend the open house it looked so much more different than before...

I open the transcendent door and enter the dome. I see a few people that showed up earlier than me gathered in small little cliques speaking in hushed voices. I spot Hinata standing alone while staring at the ground. I perk up that I have somebody to speak to at least.

I approach her and say, "hey" to Hinata. She looks up, mildly surprised, before smiling widely at me. I suppose that's her way of greeting me.

"Sooo, why does my one and only class take place in a forest?" I ask her. Hinata's eyes widen.

"You actually don't know what this school is all about?" Her question hangs in the air. Hinata looks a bit taken back her eyes unwavering from my face.

"Um, nope. I just came here today. Remember?" I remind her, giving a rather fake laugh. Am I missing something about this school? Isn't it some sort of super rich high school? Did I miss something in the handbook when I came to the open house? Plus, I don't recall a forest being there, but more of a garden. That is unusual, actually.

"You had like the whole hour to read the papers! Plus didn't anyone tell you? At all!?" She practically screams at me, still in her hushed voice, her pale eyes widening at me.

"You and the old lady at the office, were the only people I've met today. Oh, and my annoying roommate," I tell her. The word roommate slips off my tongue rather distastefully. Hinata looks down her cheeks turning a crimson pink.

"Sorry. I should have known," she mumbles to me apologetically finally gathering the courage to look in my eyes.

"No! It's not your fault!" I comfort her, wondering for a second how our conversation spiraled so out of control.

"This is a school for training ninjas," she tells me, after what felt like five minutes of silence. "I know. It's a lot to take in."

"A school for ninjas?" I repeat, my jaw practically dropping to the ground. "What do you do? Go around scissor-kicking everyone?" I say, joking around. Hinata is just playing with me. There were art majors, dance majors, poetry majors, everything possible. But definitely not ninjas. Hah, those were only in Disney movies or whatever.

"I'm being serious," Hinata whispers to me looking back at her feet. I realize that she's being honest, and trying to help me out get adjusted to school. What reason would Hinata have to lie to me?

"Oh. So...do you know what we're doing today?" I try to pull us away from the subject of ninjas, but I am actually burning with curiosity. I'll just look up who is my mentor later on.

"Well, for junior year, everyone is put on a team. It usually ranges with three members and one teacher. Basically, you have to pass through a bunch of exercises together and show that you've made progress throughout the year. If your monitor thinks you are doing good, you will continue on the track to become ninja. Although, I do know we are being placed in our teams today. Since you are new I can help you with explaining the basics from freshman year," Hinata explains to me helpfully.

"So, um, what do you mean basics?" I ask her.

"Focusing chakra like in your feet by trying to walk up a tree, then building your chakra up to make a jutsu. There's a chakra network inside of you, and you must be amazing to get in to this school, especially this late. Anyways, I'll try to teach you something before the teachers get here. Walking up trees is really easy. Basically imagine a big ball of energy located on your feet, and then it kind of happens like magic. Here, I'll show you. While I'm speaking, I'm thinking of most of my chakra infusing into my feet," Hinata abruptly starts running towards a tree. What if Hinata was crazy? Perhaps that was why no one really seemed to talk to her. I cringe, hoping she doesn't break some bones because of me, by crashing into that tree. I open my mouth to tell her top stop.

Instead, she ran vertically up the tree. Did I eat some crazy Cocoa Puffs for breakfast or something? Holy shit, that wasn't possible. Hinata then jumped off the tree and landed with a thud in front of me. She was a bit pink, but looking very pleased with herself.

"Chakra. Huh," I mutter to myself, wondering how in the world am I going to walk up a tree in a few minutes. It looks fairly easy, and the explanation was simple. Hinata wasn't even noticed by the others when she was walking up the tree. It's like, it was totally normal.

Okay. This is freshmen stuff. Easy. It's not bad. Oh god, I'm going to kill myself trying to walk up the tree, as Hinata looks at me expectantly. She nods encouragingly, and I close my eyes, readying myself in a running stance. I imagine two balls of light manifesting themselves into my feet. I feel a kick of adrenaline. _You can do this, Sakura._

I run towards the tree. I brace myself for a broken nose, but I'm wrong. I'm running upwards. I'm defying gravity. I open my eyes, and I'm standing on the tree trunk for a few seconds, before I fall off and land on my back. The wind knocks me out for a second, and I lay there, panting, waiting to catch my breath.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Hinata calls, in a small child-like voice. "You did pretty good on your first time ever using chakra," she tells me. Pretty good? Huh? I did fantastic! I ran up a tree, for god's sake.

I pick myself up and walk back to her. I ready myself this time, and imagine myself with the orbs in my feet. I'm already tired, but I don't care. I have to manage to learn at least this. I run towards the tall tree with twisting branches, and I keep my eyes open. My feet make contact with the trunk, and I make six steps before falling back down. But this time, I land on my feet, and not on my back. What am I doing wrong?

I walk to where Hinata is still standing watching my progress with a smile. She has her arms crossed, and her head is slightly tilted to the right. I think back to when I was on the tree. I couldn't hold onto this "chakra" in my feet. It was like it lived on its own, trying to go against my will. Well, I'll make it trapped within a mental cage this time, and I'll manage to walk on the dumb tree that had barely any branches except for the top. "One last try," I tell myself, before breaking out in a run. I hold my breath, and start going up vertically. I narrow my eyes, straining them, as I continue to run up for several seconds, before jumping onto one of the top branches that didn't look too thin. I look down, and grin at Hinata, who has a hand covering her mouth. She looked like she was biting down on it in excitement.

"I made it!" I shout down to her, finally realizing that others were staring at me. I look up, pretending I wasn't aware of the stares. I wipe my forehead from the sweat that quickly gathered onto it, and I finally peek down. Drowning puppies, I feel sick to my stomach. How the heck am I gonna get down? Do I just walk down the tree or something? But I already feel tired. I hug the tree trunk, and stare down at Hinata, already wishing that I hadn't followed this bad idea. Why the heck was I even trying to run up a tree when I'm afraid of heights? I was only trying to impress Hinata and make a friend, I guess. So stupid!

The teachers weren't here yet, and even if they come here, it'd be really embarrassing to have to remove me from the tree especially on my first day here. Plus, I didn't want to jump down and break all my bones. Hinata probably used some of that "chakra" she spoke about to jump down. Now, if only she taught me that before telling me to run up a tree.

I bite down on my lip, and continue to look down. I feel sick to my stomach. A fluttery feeling arrived in my stomach, and I was too far up to actually hear Hinata with her quiet voice. Plus, she was too shy to even yell up towards me.

"Need help, hn?" I hear the voice, and I cringe. Just the guy I wanted to see, as I slowly swivel my head over my shoulder. I knew it was hopeless to believe it was perhaps a guy that had the same voice as Deidara.

"No," I say stubbornly, raising my chin up in the air. "I don't need _your_ help. Not at all. Definitely not," I babble on. Deidara raises a blonde eyebrow at me a smirk slowly forming on his face.

"So you just decided to go hug a tree for about five minutes now, un?" He asks me, chuckling. If I wasn't in this situation I'd have probably already pounded his face. What a freaking self-obsessed jerk.

He did have a point. Would I rather have the teachers remove me from the tree or have him help me? I guess I had to take the latter.

"Fine," I give in, and give him a glare. "But don't think this will make us buddy-buddy," I say venomously. I really don't know, but this guy irritated me from the moment I met him. He's the type of guy I have to steer clear of.

"I'll take you down only for one condition," He stands on the end of the tree branch, folding his arms. I eye him, and wonder how he isn't worried that he'll end up falling off and smashing his head into a million pieces. Well, its not like I didn't mind if that exactly happened. I didn't even know who was my mentor, and Deidara probably was just doing it for the mandatory community service. Perhaps he'll leave me alone and I'll pretend that he did help me out. I'll figure everything out with Hinata.

"Fine," I cave in, and continue to hug the tree even tighter, when Deidara approaches me. I sneak a look onto the beautiful dirt floor. Great, everyone is staring, and the height of the tree seems wayyyy taller than before.

"Sakura, you know you'll have to let go of the tree and stand up, yeah?" He asks me, with what seems like...snide ness in his mouth.

"Wait...you are going to carry me?" I widen my eyes, and look over my shoulder back at him.

"What other choice do I have?" He snorts, looking at me like I was dumb.

"You can't do some cool ninja thing that takes me down?" I ask, eyeing him distastefully.

"Nah," he says, and walks closer to me. I clutch the tree tighter, and stare down at the floor. If I slip and crack my head, I'll make sure to come back from hell and haunt Deidara for the rest of his stupid life and make him step on legos wherever he goes.

"You can do it," he chides me, like I'm some dog. My cheeks flame up, and I stand up rather forcefully, nearly slipping on my shoelace. "Now, get on my back," he says, kneeling down a bit, and I avert my eyes as I climb on. Gods, this was one of the most embarrassing things I've been through. "Not so bad, yeah?"

"I hate you," I whisper into his ear, before he jumps off the tree, and my stomach flip-flops.

As soon as he lands on the ground, I untangle myself from Deidara, and immediately zoom towards Hinata.

"So rude, you aren't gonna say thank you, hn?" He calls after me, while I look at Hinata, my face turning entirely red.

"And that is my room mate. Fantastic, isn't he?" I say sarcastically to Hinata, ignoring Deidara.

"I have to room with someone who despises me. Unlike you, you seem to have someone who is interested in becoming your friend," Hinata gives a point, and I open my mouth to counter-

"Good morning students, I apologize for being so late. Mr. Sarutobi needed me to look at a few papers,"-a few disbelieving murmurs go about the crowd interrupting the grey-haired teacher-"and here are the teams!" The man continued. I swear, I've seen him somewhere before.

Everyone around me stares intently at the male teacher with gray streaks in his hair, not even daring to take a single breath.

"Team 2 is of Deidara, Sasori, and Tobi," I blank out after, not recognizing anyone else, and Hinata wasn't even mentioned yet.

"...Team 7 will consist of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchicha, Naruto Uchicha, and I am the mentor for ninja training," he finishes. There were more teams than seven, but they were all named differently. I get a few jealous glares and a few murmurs consisting of how unfair it was.

"Why is this newbie being placed into all the powerful groups?" I hear a female voice whisper to another, and I glance down at my feet, wishing the stares would stop burning through me.

"Report to all your mentors. They are awaiting you in their classrooms," he says, and Hinata waves me a goodbye before departing. I walk to the man and look around, wondering how my teammates looked like. A boy with spiky black hair and the other with blonde hair stay behind, and my heart sinks. Again, guys? Oh well. At least I'll be able to concentrate on my studies instead of chit-chatting with someone else of my gender.

And by the looks of it, I'll have to be doing a lot of catching up.

I approach the teacher, and I finally notice that he had a black mask on, that only reveals his right eye.

"Kakashi Hatake," I gasp out, finally remembering who he is. He was my interviewer. So my teacher was the one I had to attack?

"Sakura Haruno," he addresses me, squinting his one eye, and I think he is smiling. I'm not sure. "You had quite an interesting audition," he tells me.

"Er-thanks. I was only wondering if there was any programs to help out those struggling? Like after-school study groups?" I ask him, as Naruto and Sasuke finally walk to us, who were quietly whispering amongst themselves. Although, I was a bit pleased he was impressed by my audition, even if I don't remember half of it myself.

"There are a few. I suggest you to join Mr. Jiraiya's after school class. He's an exceptional teacher and will bring you right to track to this year's curriculum. I doubt you'll have any problems," he tells me, in which the black hair boy snorts to. I feel slightly offended, but I don't bother to respond to him or lecture him how rude he is being. Whoever taught him manners was awful judging simply from that, and plus, I'm not his mother.

"This is boring! What are we gonna do Kakashi?!" The blonde kid exclaims, bouncing all over the place hyperactively.

"Just an exercise to assess your skill levels," he simply says. "Follow me."

Kakashi turns and walks towards the forest. He leads us through a dense area, before we walk into a wide sandy clearing with three wide poles placed down on a sandy area. The circular clearing is about thirty feet wide and the rest is trees and bushes bordering the clearing. Kakashi spins on his heels, facing us, while holding up two bells.

"See these? Whichever one doesn't get the bell will have to watch me eat lunch in front of them. You have half a day to get these bells. The best way a ninja can get these is by using stealth," he tells us, and the blonde excitedly tries to take a punch at him, in which Kakashi immediately dodges. Kakashi with lightning fast reflexes grabs the blonde's arm and twists it around. He then flips him around, and the poor kid makes a painful thud on the ground. I wince sympathetically for him.

"I didn't even say start, Naruto," Kakashi chuckles. He looks at Sasuke and I and ruffles his hair with his free hand. "Start."

Sasuke, Naruto, and I lock eyes temporarily before we scramble into the bushes. I lie underneath a bunch of leaves, concealing my body from Kakashi's view, although the position I am is fairly uncomfortable. My head is twisted to the right, and if I stay with my head crooked like this to see what Kakashi is up to, I'll end up with horrible neck pains tomorrow. Kakashi just sat down near the poles of wood and started to read a bright orange book. I frown and see Naruto noisily creeping up behind him before screaming out a word and trying to attack Kakashi. Kakashi just with one hand throws Naruto onto the sandy ground his eyes still glued to the small book.

Kakashi is superb at this. He obviously had tons of experience in this, and he seemed so easy to beat during my audition. Damn. I glance behind my shoulder and see a tree with branches sprouting out from the ground. When I was a simpleton, I loved to climb trees, and had caused my hands to be extremely weathered from climbing trees all the time. That was before my fear of heights. I didn't want to be considered the weakling of the group so I had to ignore my fears for now I look back at Kakashi and see that Naruto still didn't have Kakashi's words enter his head of being stealthy and trying to attack him head-on. Kakashi couldn't concentrate on Sasuke and I while reading his book and dodging Naruto's fists while he was screaming at him. I can use his screams to my advantage. It'll conceal any noises the branches will make.

I have perhaps a minute to make it up all the way. The tree before that Deidara had to rescue me from had barely any branches, but this one has plentiful so I'm alright. If I fall, I'll be able to catch myself on another. I test the bottom branch with putting all the weight on my foot. I was always very skinny with no womanly curves and light for my age. I wrap my hands around the joints of the trunk and the branch. I quickly clamber up the tree making my way up to where the branches were at its thickest. I find a nice long branch with a fork at the end. I slowly creep up towards the end of the branch, having a nice view of the clearing. I look around and accidentally lock eyes with Sasuke.

For the first time, I manage to take a good long look at Sasuke. He's quite tall with spiky jet-black hair and dark eyes. His skin similar to mine, that looks like there it has gotten barely any touch of sunlight. He's wearing a simple white shirt and shorts, the most normal-looking outfit I have seen today so far. Sasuke tilts his head towards Kakashi, before making several signals with his hands. I immediately recognize it as American Sign Language.

_Do you know ASL?_ He signs to me.

_Yes. _I respond.

_Naruto dumb. Team up for now? _Saskue asks.

_Yes. Teacher strong. What do? _ I sign back.

_Wait. _Sasuke replies.

I glance at Kakashi, and see that Naruto has his leg stuck in a noose. His head is bobbing up and down, while still mouthing to Kakashi who keeps ignoring him by reading his book.

"Yo," Sasuke greets me, and I clutch onto my branch. I had the branch between my legs, my thighs squeezing it, to keep me balanced.

"So what should we do?" I whisper over to him, slowly turning to him, loosening my grip.

"Well, I have an idea," Sasuke says, and I lean in curiously. He places his hands on my shoulders and jerks me to the side with all his force, and I bite down a scream as I fall down onto the sandy clearing, making all the noise in the world when my thud on the ground echoes. Kakashi looks up from his book and sets it down on his lap.

"I said stealthy not loud," he simply says before dashing to my side. I barely was able to blink before he appeared at my side. Alright. Kakashi throws a punch at my side, which I immediately dodge. He was really fast, but not as before. It's obvious he's going easy on me. A spark of anger flares up inside of me. Just because I'm a girl? Even Sasuke used me as a distraction, as a burst of fire goes toward Kakashi's back. I jump back, and Kakashi turns into a log. Ha! At least Sasuke also exposed himself out in the open. He frowns at me, clearly upset that me being the distraction didn't work.

"Great teamwork," I sarcastically say, and Sasuke shoots me a sneer. I look at poor dangling Naruto who looks like he was able to pass out. I wonder if Chakra can cut through things, but if it can make me walk on trees, I'm guessing yes. I close my eyes and hope it works, and also hope that Kakashi doesn't intercept me as I jump up in the air towards Naruto and at the same time with chakra infesting in my hands I swipe my hand at the rope.

I haven't thought about Naruto's head being smashed on the ground, but he manages to wriggle himself in the air, and land like a cat onto the land. I glance up at the sky and see that the sun is nearly at its highest. My eyes widen. Barely any time. Each us tried to fight Kakashi on our own, and he's way behind on our level. Now I understood.

"It's teamwork," I say to myself. Naruto looks at me, his bright blue eyes widening. "Naruto! We can overwhelm Kakashi and take the two bells," I say, grinning. Sasuke looms in the shadows, and glances at the two of us.

"Teamwork? But isn't it supposed to be assessing our skills?" Naruto asks, obviously a bit puzzled.

"How we work together, idiot," Sasuke speaks up, giving me a glare. I smirk at him, and cross my arms in response. This guy thought he was superior, and all-knowing, but for once in his life he was wronged, and he knew it.

Kakashi reappears and continues to read his book, not interested in what we are saying.

The three of us look at each other before charging at unsuspecting Kakashi.


	3. Days of Our Lives

Recap:

_"It's teamwork," I say to myself. Naruto looks at me, his bright blue eyes widening. "Naruto! We can overwhelm Kakashi and take the two bells," I say, grinning. Sasuke looms in the shadows, and glances at the two of us._

_"Teamwork? But isn't it supposed to be assessing our skills?" Naruto asks, obviously a bit puzzled._

_"How we work together, idiot," Sasuke speaks up, giving me a glare. I smirk at him, and cross my arms in response. This guy thought he was superior, and all-knowing, but for once in his life he was wronged, and he knew it._

_Kakashi reappears and continues to read his book, not interested in what we are saying._

_The three of us look at each other before charging at unsuspecting Kakashi._

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto sadly :c

I stumble onto the front steps of the Akatsuki residence and clumsily fish out the keys of my pocket. I unlock the dark-colored door, slightly open the door, and peek in. Nothing. Absolute silence. Either someone is fast asleep or they still haven't come home yet. It's about three o'clock and it seems classes haven't finished for any of them. Or the rest of the household decided to go to the nearest town. Naruto invited me for ramen in a town called Konoha. I'm glad I declined, since now I have the whole house to explore for myself. Plus, I'm too broke to even afford a simple bus fare. It cost me enough to get here. Perhaps I'll go to town once, but I'll have to bring along my resume with me, to get a job.

I kick off my shoes and immediately run through the living room and into the kitchen. Of course, it's just as sleek and modern as the living room. The kitchen has a table placed in the middle of a room that's made of pale marble. There are five stools with a supporting back that are able to spin placed around the table. I guess these guys aren't big on eating together, assuming there is no dining room other than this pathetic attempt of one. There's a series of mahogany colored cabinets placed on two walls that meet together into a corner. Also, there's a sleek silver stove that looks like it gathers a lot of dust and a microwave placed left of it. It's kind of obvious which is used more often. I sigh to myself and stroll over to the refrigerator. It is placed to the right of the oven. I open the fridge and look at the inside of the well-stocked fridge. I'm surprised. There's vegetables, fruits, gallons of drinks, and meats. The abundance of food placed in front of me makes my stomach growl. I ate lunch a few hours ago. Plus, I wouldn't call it much of a lunch. I was just given some salad while my teammates chewed on well-stacked sandwiches. I guess it won't hurt to make myself something else. It's a bit hard to get used to this all rich fare and well, that I'm training to be a _ninja._

I take out a package of beef and carrots. I manage to find a sack of potatoes. I peel them while simmering the beef on low heat. My mouth waters as the as the aroma of the meat fills up the kitchen. I resist the urge to stuff the raw beef into my salivating mouth. My feet hurt me a lot as I navigate myself through the kitchen. They felt entirely bruised and I suppose that is what happens when chakra is used too much or when it is first used. I'm not sure. I'm in need of a long hot shower but I'll have to wait for the guys to show me what's temporarily mine. I dump the potatoes and carrots that I just chopped into the water. I decide to go fetch my laptop from the living room. I unzip my backpack and fish out the medium-sized silver laptop and take it with me into the kitchen. I open it and turn on the laptop. I set it on the countertop from across the table. The food will take about forty-five minutes to cook. I play my music and crank up the volume before logging onto Facebook.

"_From the perfect start to the finish line...and if you are still breathing you are the lucky ones...cause most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs. Setting fire to the insides for fun, collecting names of the lovers that went wrong, the lovers that went wrong_," I sing along. To be frank, I'm a horrible singer. I croak each note. Although, if no one's around, I like to sing. It comforts me.

"_We are the young...we are the reckless of the wild youth_," I finish, and let the singer continue her intended solo while I look through my messages. For some reason, I loved this song. It's just I don't really pay attention the lyrics, but I know them by heart. The song immediately soothes me each time it plays. I don't think too much about it. It's just like a neutralizer for my brain. I don't perk up when I listen to it or become sad, it's just a song that's there and is more of background music. In a way, it's a wallflower song.

**Lily Suhoto**:

Yo Sakura!

I miss you! How's your new school? Lol if your school allows strangers to sleep over which I don't think they do invite me ASAP please.

_Sent at 1:24 through iPhone4. _

I smile at Lily's message. She already misses me. I actually do wonder if they let others sleep over, but probably they don't. Lily is a friend that I greatly communicated with over the years and I miss her brazen presence here. She's fearless at making friends and that's what gave me courage to transfer so many times and bother making friends. Even if they jeered at me I tried. She taught me that there are good people everywhere. Unfortunately, she's the only good person I've met so far. We met in middle school and from then on I kept in touch with her even if I switched schools like four times since then. I was still in the same city, then, so we were able to meet up. Now, I'm hours away from her.

**Sakura Haruno**:

hey lils. this new school is crazy. i'm roommates with two boys and i think all my housemates are guys. i only met two of the guys and i made a scene about it. i feel awful about it but it'll make it even more awkward if i apologize. plus the classes are so much more different

_Sent at 3:43._

I quickly type and see a green circle reviving back to life next to Lilly's bold name. I grin to myself, happy, that she logged on at the right time.

**Lily Suhoto**:

2 guys? r they hot or are they curzed with horrible acne? ummm just prtend it never happened k? and did u find any knew friends?

_Sent at 3:47._

My fiery redhead friend quickly replies, misspelling some words while rushing, I bet. I glance at the time to check how much I have left before the food is done. My stomach growls and my mouth further salivates, yearning for the deliciousness of cooked beef. Fifteen more minutes of torture, I mentally groan to myself.

**Sakura Haruno**:

everyone is really good looking at this school. idk if its the food they are being fed but people have surprisingly really clear skin...and i only met one of my roommates and he's kind of a jerk. i met this nice person named hinata...she's really shy but she's really helpful.

_Sent at 3:49._

**Lily Suhoto**:

thats a great start! plus u better send me pics. i gotta go! evan wants me 2 go see a movie w/ him and gl!

_Sent at 3:54._

Lily's green dot fades into transparency. I glumly stare at the screen wishing she didn't have to leave so soon. I have around ten minutes left and I couldn't even play a game or anything because I didn't want to overcook the meat. Usually when I start playing a game of some sorts, I can't tear myself away, and I end up pouring hours on my laptop. I try to blow away a stray piece of blonde hair away from my sticky face, but end up failing my goal. In the end I tuck the light blonde behind my ear.

I'm still curious about the rest of the house. I check the time again. Five more minutes. I should have cleaned the stove, but at the moment I'm too ravenous to mind the dust that's settled on the top. I mentally make a note for myself to clean it tomorrow. Finally, the agonizing five minutes are over, and I'm able to dump the meat onto my plate with the potatoes and carrots. I blow on the dish. I want the food cool faster. There's some more left in the pan. I made too much. I should work on breaking my habit for cooking for my father.

I search for the utensils in the kitchen, opening each cabinet and inspecting it carefully to find the object I seek. On my fifth try, I triumphantly find a fork and a knife. I carry the plate over to the table, place myself on a stool, and dig in.

"Finally! That test was so hard for no absolute reason, un," echoes throughout the house just when I'm about to bite down on the beautifully scented food. My day falls apart into shambles as I stare at the plate of food, my appetite for the delicious savors immediately vanishing. My throat feels dry but my stomach grumbled in protest. I need to feed myself in order to restore my energy.

"Something smells, un," Deidara says the obvious to whoever he's speaking to. His loud obnoxious voice makes me cringe. I forcefully swallow down the piece of meat that now tastes like cardboard. I'm not sure if I should find his comment offensive. I wave it away for now, even if I feel a twinge of anger. I try to quickly cram into my mouth whatever I can, to get rid of the obvious evidence of what I just recently cooked. I just wanted to eat in peace and disappear.

"Pinky!" Deidara greets me with a wide white smile, when he busts into the kitchen, and I struggle to swallow down my food. My plan was already bound for failure when I formed it out of desperation. I stare at him with deer in the headlight eyes; I bet my cheeks look as big as a chipmunk from all the food I stuffed into my mouth. I greet Deidara with a nod, wondering why he'd call me that nickname. I'm not even wearing anything pink. Another male enters the room. The guy from the morning. The redhead. I chew my food into mush and swallow it with ease now. He looks a bit different but I can't put my finger on it.

"Um. If you guys are hungry there's still some food left over," I point to the pans that are scattered on the stove, before awkwardly staring down at my plate. I push my food around a bit with my silverware.

"_The bass, the rock, the mike, the treble! I like my coffee black just like my metal. Cause I can't wait for you to knock me up, I can't wait for you to knock me up. I can't wait for you to shut me up. Hair like that! I can't wait for you to shut me up! SHUT! ME! UP!_" My laptop screams out. I turn a furious pink and launch myself off the chair. I slide on the wood thanks to my socks. I abruptly stop at the kitchen countertop and hit pause.

"Sorry!" I say, mortified, heat flushing up my neck. The redhead gives me an amused glance before taking out a plate and scooping some food onto it.

"Knock you up, un?" Deidara asks. He's obviously trying to hold in his laughter.

"It's a song!" I snap at Deidara. He irritates me so much that I'm not in the mood to even _peck_ on my food anymore. I can already tell this will be a long evening. I can't even leave the duo since I don't even know where my room is.

When we all finished eating, Sasori and I glance at each other, not knowing what to do now. Deidara dumps all the dishes into the sink and doesn't even bother to splash water on it. Whoever will have to go on dish duty will have a difficult time scraping off the remains.

"Anybody want to watch some TV?" Deidara breaks the tension. I notice he didn't add on his trademark "un" at the end of his sentence.

"Sure," Sasori says.

"I guess I'll tag along," I add, half-heartedly. It's not like I have anything else to do. Sasori seems okay so far. I don't have anything else to do and if I train any more I bet I'll pass out. I close my laptop and follow the guys to the living room. The best sitting place will be the couch that's placed right in front of the TV. Oh well. I sit down onto the right corner of the couch. Thankfully, Sasori sat down in the middle before Deidara could further annoy me by sitting next to me. I slip my laptop into my backpack.

Deidara turns on the television and starts scrolling down the guide. There's nothing that catches my attention. And then Deidara does the unspeakable. He plays Days of Our Lives.

Oh.

My.

God.

I glance at Sasori who seems utterly unfazed by all of this. I decide to get over my painful awkwardness and the uncomfortable situation I'm in. "Are you seeing this?"

"What?" Sasori sounds confused, glancing back at me.

"Did Deidara just choose to watch Days of Our Lives from the thousands of different shows that are ten times better than this soap crap?" I ask him, trying to soak it in. I'm watching the dreaded Days of Our Lives. I never thought in my life that I'd have to watch this drama shit again. I used to watch this in the fifth grade. I thought it was so cool until one day I realized what an awful show this was. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life to stop watching it. Days of Our Lives is such a time waster.

"Yes, Sakura," he manages out, not knowing what the heck is going on.

"What's so wrong with Days of Our Lives?" Deidara asks in a defensive tone.

"We aren't watching this horrible show," I say.

"Yes, we are," Deidara grits his teeth. I turn my head to the left to look at him. He meets my gaze defiantly. "And it's not horrible."

"I'd rather watch Titanic ten times in a row than this," I tell him truthfully. I sob like a baby each time.

"Too bad!" He sticks up his chin like a pouty little child. The remote control is still in Deidara's bronze-colored hand.

"Oh no you don't!" I start to reach for the remote. Deidara immediately jerks back and sticks his hand with the remote up into the air. No fair! He's even tall when sitting down! I crawl over Sasori's lap, and get a hold of Deidara's hand. I swing my legs over Deidara and straddle him.

"The remote, yeah!" He says dramatically. I think he's going easy on me. His grip wasn't too hard and it made me feel mad how Deidara is underestimating me. I easily pry the remote control out of his grasp.

"Ha!" I triumphantly jeer at him by pointing the remote at his face. Immediately the remote control is yanked out of my grasp and goes into Sasori's hands. I don't even bother to ask him how he did it. I suspect it'll be the same answer as always. Chakra.

"No fair!" Deidara and I both simultaneously say in which Sasori smirks in response to.

"Mine," Sasori settles the fight.

I retreat back into my seat and watch Sasori search through the guide. "You better put on something more bearable than Days of Our Lives."

"I actually hate Days of Our Lives," Deidara confesses after a few seconds of silence.

"What?" I blankly say. So this whole time he was just making a fool out of me? How dare he?

"I just wanted to see your reactions, un," he chuckles.

"Days of Our Lives can be actually used as a source of torture," Sasori says matter-of-factly.

"I feel bad for whoever has to endure a marathon of this show." I can't help but crack up over what Sasori said. Sasori finally chooses something for the lot of us to watch. It turns out to be about some woman who works for the news and gets fired. She's forced to join some crappy news show and tries to make changes so it'll get more viewers. It's kind of funny since at one point she forces this old news reporter to go on a roller coaster ride and he looks like he's having a heart attack while on it. None of us speak throughout the movie. Well, Deidara has to put some stupid comment every five seconds or so, but Sasori and I ignore him. I end up falling asleep before the ending.

I wake up in a bed I don't recognize. It's a soft mattress. The type I never had and can melt into. I don't even recall walking up here.

"You're up," Sasori says in a bored tone.

"What time is it?" I ask the red-head. I sit up and throw the white covers off me.

"It's five a.m.," he informs me. I look around the room and notice there are only two beds. Deidara is clutching his pillow like a little child and its teddy bear. His silky blonde hair is fanned out and his expression is peaceful. His legs are tangled in a white sheet while he inaudibly mumbles something several times. Damn, he can't even stop talking in his sleep. I return my gaze back to Sasori. He's sitting on a black wooden chair with a sketchbook placed in his hands. The two beds are on the same side of the room placed within the corners. Sasori is across from me scratching something into his sketchbook.

"This is your bed?" I roll out of bed and groan at my filthy clothes.

"Yes. I have no use of it. Think of it as a welcoming gift," Sasori says, his eyes flickering back to me.

"Can't sleep?" I ask Sasori. I spot my backpack on the dark hardwood floor. I kneel down and take out my only other shirt. It's simply too hot to wear jeans and it would look bad if I wear the same outfit in two days.

"Something like that," he replies.

"Can you show me where the bathroom is?" I take out a pink plastic toothbrush with a small tube of toothpaste. I add on a white towel and shower gel to my pile. I wonder what's up with Sasori. He slept the day before, but couldn't tonight?

"In there," his droopy brown eyes follow me until I no longer feel their presence when I shut the door behind me. The first thing I notice is the shower. It's made of glass. The light pea green color in the bathroom is surprisingly nice. I'd have never thought of to use that color. The bathroom is fairly sized. The toilet has its own wall and the sink is placed next to the glass box. Additionally, I notice the cleanliness. There's no hair or anything spotted anywhere. No toothpaste on the sink. I honestly thought it was going to be worse since I'm rooming with two guys. Thinking about it, even their bedroom floor was clear of any dirt.

I practically skip out of the bathroom. I feel so much more refreshed from just cleaning myself up. I glance down at my long sleeved striped shirt. It's a bit warm in the house and I wish I had a better T-shirt suited for this warm weather.

"Thank you," I mumble to Sasori. "Um...do you want to go eat breakfast downstairs?"

"Sure. I have nothing else to do other than watch Deidara snore," he remarks distastefully. Sasori stands up and I follow him down into the kitchen where a rather large man with slicked back silver hair is slurping up cereal.

"So you are the new girl, bitch," the man I dubbed Oldie says.

"Wow, you have great observational skills. Please tell me more that I don't know," I sarcastically say, trying to find a bowl. Er-that was a rather horrible comeback. It sounded just awkward and I mentally wince. Also, that was unlike me. I normally try not to give pleasure to bullies by talking back. I find one before I spot about ten different cereal boxes placed on top of the fridge. Figures that they'd have this amount since it's the easiest thing to make. I bet these guys are as great cooks as Oldie's observations.

"You know, it's usually polite to say your name first," he says. I turn to face him. His lips curl up into a smile. I place bowl and cereal on the dining table. I meet his eyes for a second. I did a double-take, realizing his eyes were purple. _Purple._ Must I stress the color? This is getting weirder by the second.

"You didn't say your name," I reply. Sasori silently pours milk into his bowl before sitting down next to Oldie. I take the milk and pour it practically to the brim of the bowl.

"Fine. I'm Hidan, bitch," he introduces himself grudgingly.

"Sakura Haruno," I say, now focusing on eating my cereal. I ignore his foul language. Even if it does sting a bit, I'm practically used to this. _Shhh, it's just me._ I stiffen.

"Listen, bitch, Akatsuki's going on some sort of field day today. You coming?" Hidan asks me sharply after I eat the last of my cereal.

"Huh?" I look at Sasori for help, who's still working on his breakfast.

"You dimwit, can you even bother even be gracious? Or perhaps even give her some details? Plus, it's not like she has any choice," Sasori rolls his eyes, shoving a spoon into his mouth. Not any choice? Does Sasori now decide what I should do and not do? I tighten my grip on my spoon.

"Oh yeah. We're going to the beach. Hot babes just waiting to be laid," Hidan sighs dreamily.

"Er-I'd rather not," I decline after hearing Hidan talk about this "field-day".

"You don't understand, newbie," Hidan tells me. "You _have_ to go."

"It's mandatory," Sasori deadpans.

"Oh," I study Hidan for a second. Then, I think about Deidara. I have to be around those two? My head already hurts from just mulling over the possible outcomes if I had to communicate with them throughout the whole day.

"But I don't even have a bathing suit."

Author's Note:

Hey guys, it's Arya! c:

I'm shocked (and really pleased!) by all the feedback I've been getting. Thank you so much for the reviews and the follows! It means a lot. I also apologize for taking forever to update. I prefer to write here and there before my parents take me to our other home where there is sadly no wi-fi and I get so bored so I just write everything there. It will also take me a while to write up chapters (perhaps I'll write two chapters for each month) since I'm working on a cosplay and trying to finish up my drawing portfolio. And, I've been taking quite an interest to reading many Agatha Christie books. They are just so interesting!

Again, thanks! It means so much :D

Another note is that I'm going to Amnesia: A New Home off the unannounced hiatus. I've been rather lazy to update, but since people are lately following it, I'm rather motivated to post a new chapter. Well...I already have parts of a chapter written up. I might post it any time this week when I'll have time c:

This is only my second story and I apologize for any mistakes made. Plus, I'm not really used to writing fanfiction. So...yeah...it's kind of still new for me.

And remember, a review may seem meaningless to you, but it lasts a long time with an author. :)

Thank you for the awesome reviews:

BlackTitania Gem

AnimeGirl45xoxo


End file.
